Advocaat in a 'no-lose situation' - fanzine editor

New Sunderland head coach Dick Advocaat is in a "no-lose situation", according to the editor-in-chief of a leading fanzine.

Experienced Dutchman Advocaat was handed a deal until the end of the season on Tuesday, after Gus Poyet paid the price for Saturday's humiliating 4-0 home defeat to Aston Villa left Sunderland just a point above the Premier League relegation zone.

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In Advocaat, Sunderland have appointed a man who has won domestic titles in his native Netherlands, Scotland and Russia, as well as international stints with the likes of Netherlands, Russia, Belgium, Serbia and South Korea.

And while Sunderland find themselves in a precarious position, Martyn McFadden - editor of 'A Love Supreme' - believes Advocaat can guide Sunderland to safety and says that even if they do drop into the Championship, blame will not be laid at his door.

"I guess everyone's been highlighting the successes of his career. But at the same time if he's managed the likes of Serbia and South Korea he's also been experienced in managing the underdog so to speak," McFadden told Perform.

"I guess as well if Sunderland get relegated now he won't get the blame - he's in a no-lose situation.

"We haven't been in the bottom three all season which is worth pointing out. If he comes in and gets the 'new manager bounce' and wins a couple of games then we'll probably stay up.

"If we carry on our dismal form and get relegated I don't think he'll particularly get the blame because obviously we were already in trouble. I guess we'll see what he's made of."

McFadden also believes the Sunderland board have opted for a fresh approach after the appointments of younger bosses in the form of Poyet and predecessor Paolo Di Canio failed to yield results.

However, he warned that may not be a tactic that guarantees success, citing Martin O'Neill's struggles at the Stadium of Light between 2011 and 2013 as an example.

"Martin O'Neill was the manager we aspired to having for a long time. He'd had success everywhere he'd been, he was a Sunderland fan, he was the sort of manager we'd always wanted and it turned out he was maybe a bit past his sell-by date when we got him.

"So the club said 'let's go for a young, hungry manager' and we went for Di Canio. He had to go because of all the trouble he caused behind the scenes so we replaced him with Poyet another up-and-coming manager.

"Now we've gone back to the tried-and-trusted with experience like O'Neill - but the reason they wanted young managers in the first place was because O'Neill had gone a bit stale."